Author Of The Other 'Fire And Fury' Book Says Business Is Booming

In a rush to buy journalist and author Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, buyers have mistakenly purchased Randall Hansen's book of a similar name, Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945.

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Originally published on January 11, 2018 10:53 am

Historian and author Randall Hansen is a lucky man: The title of one of his books is almost exactly the same as another that recently became very, very well-known.

Hansen's book is Fire And Fury: The Allied Bombing Of Germany 1942-1945. The beginning of that title "Fire and Fury" is the same as that of journalist and author Michael Wolff's new exposé about the Trump administration, Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House.

Hansen's Fire and Fury was published in the U.S. in 2009, and people still have been buying it here and there. Then he went online to check on sales last Friday.

"And saw that I had moved from very, very low sales onto three best-seller lists," Hansen says.

Friday was also the same day the other Fire And Fury came out — criticizing President Trump. It's clear people weren't paying too much attention to what they were putting in their Amazon carts.

Hansen believes that his "Fire And Fury" book is still relevant. He notes that President Trump used the phrase "fire and fury" when he threatened North Korea last year.

"My book is about what 'fire and fury' actually looks like on the ground — and if people read my book and realized what war actually is, that could have a positive effect," Hansen says.

Hansen, who lives in Canada, says supplies of his book have now sold out. He says he hasn't read Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury, yet.

"It only came to Toronto yesterday, and I can't face these chaotic lines in bookstores," he says.

Instead, he ordered it online and made sure it was the right one. But he's enjoying the fact that others haven't.

Art Silverman and Renita Jablonski produced and edited this piece for on-air.

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Historian and author Randall Hanson is a lucky man. That's because of the title of one of his books. Here, we'll have him say it for you.

RANDALL HANSEN: "Fire And Fury: The Allied Bombing Of Germany."

SHAPIRO: "Fire And Fury" - that's the lucky part. It's the same as the name of the Michael Wolff book that came out last week about the Trump White House.

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Randall Hansen's "Fire And Fury" was published in the U.S. in 2009. People were still buying it from time to time. And then he went online to check on sales last Friday.

HANSEN: And saw that I had moved from very, very low sales into three best-seller lists.

MCEVERS: Friday was the same day the other "Fire And Fury" came out. That, of course, was a book criticizing President Trump. So people were not paying attention to what they were putting in their Amazon carts.

SHAPIRO: Hansen believes that his "Fire And Fury" book is still relevant. He notes that President Trump used that phrase, fire and fury, when he threatened North Korea last year.

HANSEN: My book is about what foreign theory actually looks like on the ground, and if people read my book and think about what war actually is, that could have a positive effect.

SHAPIRO: Hansen, who lives in Canada, says supplies of his book have now sold out. He says he has not yet read Michael Wolff's "Fire And Fury."

HANSEN: It only came out in Toronto yesterday, and I can't face these chaotic lines in the bookstores.

MCEVERS: So he's ordered it online. He ordered the right one and is enjoying the fact that others haven't.

HANSEN: Well, I feel extraordinary lucky, and I'm tempted to buy Wolff a bottle of champagne.